NEW YORK (AP) — Iowa started the season on quite a roll and ended it with quite a thud.
The Hawkeyes, who were ranked as high as third after beating then-No. 1 Michigan State, lost 87-68 to second-seeded Villanova on Sunday in the second round of the South Regional.
The run of not reaching the Sweet 16 since 1999 keeps going and the blowout — Iowa trailed by as many as 34 points — meant the seventh-seeded Hawkeyes finished the season losing seven of their final 10 games.
"It's a very hard task just to make this tournament, let alone win a game here," said point guard Mike Gesell, one of four senior starters. "So I'm very proud of my guys, the way we handled ourselves all season. The season's a grind. There's a lot of ups and downs during the season, and we kept plugging along, kept working hard every day, and getting better every single day."
Villanova was a lot better Sunday.
"I'd say they did a very good job of moving the ball, and I think we didn't come out with the intensity defensively that we needed against a team like that," Gesell said. "They're a team that is very unselfish. They just play within themselves."
Ryan Arcidiacono scored 16 points and Daniel Ochefu had 11 rebounds for Villanova, which advanced to the Sweet 16 for the first time since it went to the Final Four in 2009.
Arcidiacono, Ochefu and the rest of Villanova's seniors made it to the tournament's second weekend for the first time. They were upset in the round of 32 the last two seasons and didn't make it that far as freshmen.
"Great leadership by Ryan Arcidiacono and Daniel Ochefu," coach Jay Wright said. "I'm thrilled for that senior class that they get to play in a Sweet 16."
The Wildcats (31-5) will meet third-seeded Miami on Thursday in Louisville, Kentucky.
Villanova lost in the round of 32 as a No. 1 seed last season and as a No. 2 seed in 2014. But there was no doubt in this one. The Wildcats led 54-29 at halftime. The closest Iowa (22-11) got was 16 points in the final minutes.
Josh Hart scored 19 points, Kris Jenkins 15 and Jalen Brunson 12 for the Wildcats.
Jarrod Uthoff led Iowa with 16 points. Nicolas Baer had 15 and Peter Jok 11.
The Wildcats took command about 12 minutes in. While Villanova was hitting almost every shot — the Wildcats made seven of their first 10 3-point attempts — Iowa couldn't come up with a basket to stem the tide.
The Hawkeyes went five minutes with a field goal, and Villanova took a 39-21 lead. It didn't get any better for Iowa, and it couldn't have remained any better for the Wildcats against the Hawkeyes' zone.
Villanova, which wasn't fazed in the least by Iowa's midcourt trap, closed the half on an 8-0 run. The 54 points were the most the Wildcats have ever scored in a half in the NCAA Tournament.
Villanova shot 60.6 percent in the half and had just four turnovers, none of which Iowa scored off, and it turned the Hawkeyes' eight turnovers into 12 points. The Wildcats outrebounded Iowa 19-12.
Wright said he told Iowa coach Fran McCaffery when they shook hands: "Hey, I'm sorry. We haven't played a first half like that in a long time."
And the Hawkeyes couldn't make a run in the second half.
"It's hard to come back. You've got to make 3s,"McCaffery said. "We had good looks at it from 3. If we could have made a few, maybe it would have been a little bit different."
The Wildcats had advanced to the second round with an 86-56 thrashing of UNC-Asheville while Iowa needed overtime to beat Temple 72-70 on a tip-in at the buzzer.
TIP-INS
Iowa: The Hawkeyes last reached the Sweet 16 in 1999. ... They were 7 of 24 from 3-point range with Jok going 2 of 7. ... Iowa did not have one fast break point while Villanova had 18. ... The Hawkeyes also lost in the round of 32 last year.
Villanova: The Wildcats finished 10 of 19 from 3-point range. ... Hart was 7 of 11 from the field. ... Jenkins led Villanova with six assists and three others had four each. ... The Wildcats won the only previous NCAA Tournament meeting between the schools, 55-54 in the second round in 1983. ... Villanova is 6-0 at Barclays Center.
UP NEXT
Iowa: Season over.
Villanova: South Regional semifinals against third-seeded Miami.
